I’m a transplanted yankee from the Bensonhurst area of Brooklyn NY . I’ve lived in Florida since I was 8, when my family dragged my sister and I out of B’kln and down to Miami…..but I’m NOT a Florida Cracker! I’ll be a Yankee until my dying day and proud of it. My blood is comprised of 60% olive oil, and 40% chicken soup. In June of ’65 I graduated from High School and met my husband Larry, who was a radar operator for the USAF, a few months later, and the rest is history..we’ve been married for 42 years and have three great kids: David, Jessica and Kimberly. My first job after graduation was as an operator with Southern Bell , when you could actually dial 0 or 411 and get a live person. Over the years (before I retired) I worked mostly secretarial jobs, my longest being at the University of Florida, and my last being at a correctional facility for youthful offenders. In 1980 I had an editorial column in our local paper, which lasted a few years. I’m mother to a 100lb golden retriever named Buddy-Beans, a 25 yr old cockatiel named Beeper and at least 500 wild birds and other assorted wildlife that I feed and spoil on 8 ½ acres that we call “Clackum’s Corner”. Even though I was raised in the city, I love living in the country now and could never go back to the noise! I’ve been an animal lover ever since I was a child, and I’m now referred to by the neighbors as that crazy bird lady! After my family, my greatest pleasures are wildlife photography and writing.